ADM Kids

Deciding on a summer hockey plan for a 10U player requires the touch of a chef, not a baker.

That is to say: It is not a recipe with exact measurements and perfect quantities, proven over and over to deliver the same results.

Rather, it is an evolving experiment that might require a little pinch of this or that in order to achieve the desired balance.

Hockey families are the chefs in this example. Navigating the journey and the question requires the perspective that there are plenty of options but that the answers might vary from family to family.

To help guide that discussion, we recently chatted with USA Hockey player development manager Dan Jablonic. 

The first thing Jablonic mentions is the information overload that can exist when trying to navigate offseason decisions.

“There are so many choices from the parents’ perspective,” he says.

A good place to start when trying to find that offseason balance is with your hockey association.

“Talk to them and see what they're recommending,” Jablonic says. “A lot of times the associations will have offerings based on people's schedules and it's optional, it's what you can balance for your family.”

10U players should stay active in the offseason, Jablonic says, for a variety of reasons.

“You have to be intentional what's important for the kids and, and it really comes down to three core foundations of development,” he says. “It's human development, it's athlete development, and then it's sports-specific in our case. So if you're looking at the offseason, it should look different than what you're getting in season.”

To Jablonic, that means trying new sports and activities – which help not only with movement but with different social and leadership skills.

“Throwing, jumping, catching, the ability to move and then understand body control a little bit are all important pieces,” he says. “That leads to the confidence to move, confidence to really develop those physical literacy skills that we know are so important.”

I mentioned to Jablonic that had I grown up in a warmer climate, I probably would have wanted to play my primary sport (baseball) year-round. That was just how much I loved it.

So what do we tell families of 10U players who have that same feeling about hockey?

Jablonic says it’s important to communicate the downsides of too much hockey at an early age, which can include injury and burnout risks.

“We want kids to really not have those overuse injuries, which is happening more and more because kids are starting to specialize at a younger age,” he says.

Also of major importance is making sure kids aren’t getting too much hockey from a mental standpoint. Even if they think they want hockey all the time at age 10, it might catch up to them by age 13 or 14.

Jablonic points to an NHL study from 2019 that showed 98% of players in the league self-reported that they were multi-sport athletes until at least 14-years of age.

“We want them to shoot for the stars, but we don't want to burn out, and I think that that's a huge thing for us,” he says. “We know the benefits of it. It's not just physically, it's socially, it's mentally, it's giving your mind a different break, you know, being a leader in a different sport.”

Another fine point in the discussion of summer hockey for 10U players is the nature of the hockey itself.

“There is a lot of research that play equals happiness, which equals fun, not only for 10-year-old kids but for adults as well, so we should stay focused on that,” Jablonic says.

A 3-on-3 league, cross-ice tournament or free skate with friends is a lot different from camps or other more structured leagues.

“Hey, that's great for these kids,” he says. “It's fun and a chance to play with some new friends and maybe that's what you need, right? The big thing is like anything else, it's a balance.”

Of the points Jablonic was most adamant about, though, this might be at the top: nobody is going to make the decision about summer hockey for you because there isn’t one right answer for every family.

“Parents, we can't stress that enough, you know your kids better than anybody,” Jablonic says. “So we're not going to go and give you that advice. But I think it's an important piece to understand how you are balancing it.

He urges parents to take in a lot of information but ultimately make the decision that is best for the 10U player and the family.

“It’s like being leaders in the community. It's OK to say, hey, no, that's not the right thing or timing for my child,” Jablonic says. “There are lots of people you can talk to and they say, hey, is this going to be beneficial. But are we just signing up for something because that's what everybody else is doing? That doesn't make sense, right? You’ve got to look at what's specific to your family, your child. And you know how it's going to benefit them.”